Original Proposal

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The Original Proposal was to focus on two things --

(1) “The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism” by Henry Olsen; AND

(2) Anything said or published by Representatives Deborah Dingell (D-MI) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) about their recent trip across the heartland of America to speak with, and listen to the needs of, working-class Americans -- in preparation for an attempt to re-focus the Democratic Party on blue-collar workers (vs. on identity politics)

Accordingly, this section includes not only the Original Proposal but also a NY Times article on the recent trip by Representatives Deborah Dingell (D-MI) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) about their recent trip across the heartland of America in which Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) also participated.

BTW, the NY Times article reports that they plan to release a report entitled “The Future of Work, Wages and Labor” in the coming months.
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johnkarls
Posts: 2033
Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:43 pm

Original Proposal

Post by johnkarls »

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From: ReadingLiberally-SaltLake@johnkarls.com
To: ReadingLiberallyEmailList@johnkarls.com
Bcc: The Approximately 150 Recipients of Our Weekly E-mail
Subject: The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism - Jan 10
Date: Sat, Dec 16, 2017
Attachments:
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Dear Friends,

Our next meeting is Wednesday evening, January 10th, at the Salt Lake Public Library (210 East 400 South).


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OUR FOCUS BOOK FOR JAN 10TH --

The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue Collar Conservatism by Henry Olsen [Harper Collins 6/27/2017 - 268 pages sans notes & index.]

Amazon.com -- $16.83 + shipping or $12.99 Kindle.
Other bookstores listed on Amazon -- from $8.55 used + shipping.
Salt Lake Public Library – 0 copies.
Salt Lake County Library – 1 eBook currently available; 0 of 1 hard copies currently available with 1 hold.

Proposed 11/19/2017 by John Karls as a “journey to the heart of our political divide.”

Also as part of the original proposal, John recommended highly that we study anything said or published by Representatives Deborah Dingell (D-MI) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) about their recent trip across the heartland of America to speak with, and listen to the needs of, working-class Americans -- in preparation for an attempt to re-focus the Democratic Party on blue-collar workers (vs. on identity politics).


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DESCRIPTION PER THE BOOK’S INSIDE FLY LEAF

Since when are the Republicans the party of the common man? Since Reagan.

Donald Trump’s election has led many to wonder if the Republican Party remains the Party of Reagan. In fact, President Trump’s election gives Republicans their last, best hope to re-Reaganize the GOP. Political analyst Henry Olsen reveals that the simplistic antigovernment Reagan most Republican politicians invoke is a myth. The real Reagan was a lifelong fan of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and supported the robust safety net FDR’s New Deal created and inspired. In The Working-Class Republican, Olsen argues that Reagan successfully wooed working-class voters -- the “Reagan Democrats” -- by convincing them that he was preserving, not rejecting, Roosevelt’s legacy.

As Olsen shows in this provocative work, Reagan developed a unique conservative philosophy that enhances freedom while using government to actively help Americans receive what they deserve, provided they work to the best of their abilities.

President Trump’s robust defense of American manufacturing and the safety net was closer to Reagan’s and FDR’s visions than anything Republicans have offered since the Reagan era. It’s no wonder, then, that he was the first Republican nominee since Reagan in 1984 to carry all five of the Reagan Democrat-dominated midwestern states -- Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania -- and with them, win the presidency.

The story of Reagan’s rise and his importance for today’s America and Republican Party has never seemed as fresh and as relevant as it does in The Working-Class Republican.


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AUTHOR BIO

Henry Olsen is a political analyst and a senior fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington, DC, think tank. He is a regular contributor to such leading publications as The National Review, The Weekly Standard, National Affairs, Commentary, The National Interest, The American Interest, and The Claremont Review of Books. He has also published op-eds and book reviews in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, and The Washington Examiner.


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BOOK REVIEW EXCERPTS

“The Working Class Republican is a fascinating, highly readable analysis of Ronald Reagan’s particular brand of conservatism. In Henry’s excellent book, we learn that Reagan was hardly the ideologue many of his biggest detractors (and fans) presume, but felt that energetic government sometimes could and should be deployed on behalf of America’s working class. By shining some much needed light on modern conservatism’s most important figure, Henry Olsen has also showed the Republican Party a way forward.”
***J.D. Vance, New York Times bestselling author of Hillbilly Elegy (which was the focus book for our Reading Liberally 9/14/2016 meeting)

“An urgent warning for conservatives: If you admire Reagan - listen to him. What you learn will surprise you - and may save you.”
***David Frum, Senior editor, The Atlantic

“Henry Olsen’s original and remarkable book argues that the Republican Party can only win national electoral majorities if it goes beyond appeals to ideological conservatism and gains the support of working class voters in the nation’s heartland. These voters, once known as Reagan Democrats, do not look at politics through the lens of political theory, but in terms of “helping people like us.” Abandoned by Democrats and largely forgotten, at least until this year, by Republicans, this voting bloc is the lynchpin of our electoral system. And it was at the core of how Ronald Reagan always viewed the American voter. ”
***James W. Ceaser, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution

Though Ronald Reagan is one of our most beloved presidents, he’s also one of our most misunderstood. In The Working Class Republican, Henry Olsen brings to light the real Reagan. Far from a rigid ideologue or an “amiable dunce,” he was a New Dealer at heart who wanted to make the economy work for all Americans, whether rich or poor.
***Reihan Salam , Executive Editor of National Review

“With this nuanced portrait of Ronald Reagan’s political evolution and maturation, Henry Olsen challenges many of his fellow conservatives to rethink, as Reagan did, the art of the possible in the America that the New Deal made.”
***George F. Will, Columnist, Washington Post and prominent “Never Trumper”

“Henry Olsen, one of the sharpest and most indispensable political analysts alive today, saw Trump coming when almost everyone missed it. Now he sees in Reagan what others missed. Agree or not The Working Class Republican promises to ignite a whole new fight over Trump, Reagan and the meaning conservatism. ”
***Jonah Goldberg, Senior Editor, National Review and prominent “Never Trumper”


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RSVP’S REQUESTED BY NEXT FRIDAY

In accordance with our quorum-revision policy of 6/12/2013, instead of waiting until the last week before each monthly meeting to request RSVP’s and canceling if we do not have our minimum quorum of six, RSVP’s are requested in our first-of-the-monthly-cycle weekly e-mail.

Those who have RSVP’d will be informed immediately when we reach six so that they can proceed to read the materials with assurance that a discussion will take place.

If there are not six RSVP’s by 11:59 pm next Friday, then next week’s weekly e-mail will announce that the 1/10/2018 meeting is cancelled.


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SKYPE PARTICIPATION

Non-SLCounty residents (and residents who are out of town) are invited to participate in our meeting via Skype.

If you would like to do so, please press your reply button and type “request participation via Skype” and we will contact you to make appropriate arrangements.


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We hope to see all of you on January 10th.

Your friend,

John K.

PS -- To un-subscribe, please press "reply" and type "deletion requested."

NB: Please do NOT block our e-mail because you are too embarrassed to request a deletion -- 10 of our approximately 150 regular e-mail recipients use Comcast.net which has an algorithm blocking all e-mails from a website for which a certain percentage of recipients have requested blockage AND 3 of our regular meeting attendees who use Comcast.net now can NOT receive our weekly e-mails.

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